Picking up from "Pearls..." (below):The streets in the City are made of "gold purified by fire, as clear as crystal." Pure gold is a picture of faith throughout the Bible, and it is surely a "walk by faith" to step out onto a path that can't be seen. those who walk on such streets have to be accustomed to walking where they cannot see, and going where they do not understand. For them, the invisible pavement will not be something unusual, but their usual way of walking, as we read, "for we walk by faith, and not by sight!"
With our eyes closed? No, but with our faith open! To follow Christ, to walk with Him, is a picture of sharing, trust, and love. What we do is as He leads, and empowers us. If we do not obey and walk with Him, it is not, as some suggest, a matter of faith, since it's "just natural." "The natural man," the Bible tells us, "cannot understand the things of God," but His plan for the Church is to comprehend His fullness and be transformed into His likeness, even in this life. So the harder we press forward, and the more of ourselves we give over to Him, the more we are (hopefully) showing the real faith that He has planted in our hearts. Not "works," proving our own merit, but faith producing a loving obedience to our Lord. Stay tuned for the transformation!
Photo credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/italamaria/
"The natural man," the Bible tells us, "cannot understand the things of God," but His plan for the Church is to comprehend His fullness and be transformed into His likeness, even in this life.
ReplyDeleteAn ex-friend on Facebook, that I have not talked to much in 10 years, is now agnostic. This person always put too much emphasis, in my mind, on emotional aspects of Christianity over the intellectual truth of the faith/philosophy. I doubt his Christianity could handle continued suffering and failure in the fallen world. Perhaps he was not well enough informed.